Memphis City Council briefs: MPD plans to send some investigators to precincts

When Memphis crime victims need to speak to a police investigator, they have to go to the Criminal Justice Center at 201 Poplar Downtown.

That will change soon, as the Memphis Police Department moves forward with a plan to locate some of its 300 investigators inthe nine precincts spread across the city.

"Our plan is to put investigators at each precinct and get them more in touch with the community," said Dave Martello, deputy director for MPD, during a meeting Tuesday of the City Council's Public Safety and Homeland Security committee.

Martello expects reductions in crime when investigators begin working in close contact with officers patrolling their beats.

"It will lead to better communication which leads to better crime fighting," said Martello.

"The investigators will have the benefit of going straight to the officers riding in the area," he said. "The officers riding in the area will be able to go directly to the investigators in their precincts."

Property registry gets initial OK

The council approved an ordinance to create a registry for foreclosed, abandoned or vacant properties on the first of three readings.

Mortgage holders would be required to inspect a property within 30 days of a notice of default, foreclosure or abandonment. Within 10 days of the inspection, the mortgage-holder or a designated agent would be required to register the property with Code Enforcement as vacant or occupied. The legislation requires a $200 registry fee for each property.

Another city registry would require all property owners — including those in good standing — to register and identify contacts for their properties.

Council OKs $2 million for Harahan project

The council gave the Center City Revenue Finance Corp., the finance arm of the Downtown Memphis Commission, the green light to spend $2 million on the Main Street to Main Street Multimodal Connector over the Harahan Bridge.

Earlier this year the city was awarded a $14.94 million federal grant to fund the $29.8 million public-private project. A major piece of the project is building a pedestrian and bicycle path on the Harahan Bridge and a trail linking Memphis to West Memphis. The project also includes upgrades to the Main Street corridor Downtown, from Uptown to the South Main District.

Elvis Presley Boulevard funds approved

The council approved spending $1.9 million in improvements to Elvis Presley Boulevard from Commercial Parkway to Brooks Road.

The city is in the midst of a $43 million project to make a roughly three-mile stretch of the street from Shelby Drive to Brooks Road safer and more aesthetically pleasing. The project is expected to run from 2013-2018.